»I want to permanently forget what I know«, says Nicola Schrudde. Forgetting in order to open up oneself to the allures of things, to natural phenomena and their structures, to colours and to light. This stance manifests itself in all of Schrudde's works - be it sculpture, video art or installation. Genres are blurred anyway by the artist who lives in Düsseldorf. »With respect to their effect, sculptures always have to struggle with the obstacles of their actual materiality«, says Schrudde. »I have developed my sculptures from painting«. In order to place them into intangible remoteness, the artist deploys means related to the moving surface, to colour and especially to light: »In sculpture I can work extensively with light, both that of colour and that in space which sweeps across the surfaces.« Hence it is for a reason that, in the LehmbruckMuseum, Nicola Schrudde will stage her work in the souterrain, a flat and dark room often used for video installations or graphic works. »For me as a sculptor, architecture is always also an offer«, she comments on her choice, »and this room is particularly fascinating for my current artistic engagement.« In this room Schrudde stages her work, which reflects natural phenomena. It is a discourse on darkness, but also on the transformation of sculptures in the glimmering light of the video projections. In doing so, Nicola Schrudde is interested in the effect of each one stimulus: »The depth of the sensation of a visual stimulus cannot be grasped analytically, one cannot get to the bottom of it - it remains a mystery. And I want to create situations which celebrate this mystery as such, again and again.« In this process Schrudde's work does not only draw on nature, but also on experiences gained from travelling, going for walks and being on the move. Combining video, sculpture and installation, her rooms are in a constant state of flux, but still they are also rooms of vision and contemplation, rooms in which spectators can find peace of mind - and find to themselves. Time and again thinking returns to this very sentence: »I want to permanently forget what I know.« Without titles Nicola Schrudde's works confront the visitors, the first impression is dedicated to the gaze, disinterestedly they can approach the objects and let themselves in on things without prior knowledge. And yet they will recollect known and already experienced things in the process, also in the restless flicker which is so frequently immanent in Schrudde's works: »People do not see the world in pan shots like in many movies«, says Schrudde, their gazes wander through the world in abrupt cuts - choppily rhythmised. »However, this peculiarity of my videos also appeals to fear«, says Schrudde. An extraordinary symbiosis is created - of nature and man, of complacency and trepidation, of darkness and light.

Exposerende kunstenaar(s) / exhibited artist(s): Nicola Schrudde

Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum Friedrich-Wilhelm-Strasse 40, D-47051 Duisburg, +49-2032832630, open: di t/m za 11.00-17.00, zo 10.00-18.00, entree € 5,00, tijdens exposities € 6,00 Expositieperiode van 10 februari t/m 15 april 2012